Apparently people have been responding to rock much more due to Okita’s failure in the last episode. You could’ve fooled me since everyone is still pretty much as rude to the three main characters as they were since the beginning of the series. The government has decided to follow them around in case they rock and roll? I guess?

On the flipside, Okita is getting legit sick somehow and reports to the big bad that he was trying to capture blonde haired kid, but was interrupted by the three main characters. Apparently his sickness is caused by Ryoma and the others activating their Peace Soul. Okita’s own Peace Soul wants to resonate with theirs, but since he’s all loyal to the government he can’t. Big baddie uses some mind control power on Okita to make him think he’s on fire and says he will still be of use.

So if I understand this correctly, anyone who can be an idol has a Peace Soul and said Peace Soul is essentially being locked up by big baddie. Other people releasing theirs help to unlock ones that are trapped or something. Either way, our main characters get an invite to a concert from the government that’s obviously a trap, but Ryoma is dumb.

Kondo and Hijikata arrive at big baddie’s place to interrupt this brainwashing control-thing on Okita’s Peace Soul. Okita’s soul looks practically sucked out of his body as blood leaks out of his mouth, but he’s going to sing anyway so Kondo will praise his talents. Okita takes out his sword, and it begins to glow while Kondo says this is wrong; this isn’t a song he has taught Okita. Kondo and Hijikata get covered in purple glow when Okita doesn’t get any praise, and then they faint.

Fast forward to the concert, and the trio are about to perform. Li dares them to touch people’s souls, but the crowd’s reaction isn’t favorable in the least. As they play, though, people begin to snap out of their crazed idol brainwashing when their Peace Souls begin to activate. Okita takes the stage and whips out his sword as he begins to sing. His song turns people lifeless, and our heroes begin to combat this with their own music.

Kondo and Hijikata are basically breaking out of prison and fighting against their captors somewhere else, but they get separated. Ryoma, on the other hand, gets blasted with purple glow, er, whatever, and sees some of Okita’s memories. Ryoma seems to realize that Li is the one behind Okita’s constant singing, but is unable to stop him as the crowd begins to get closer to our heroes. Kondo is also trying to get to Okita so he can stop suffering for his dream. For the first time, we begin to hear Kondo sing as he gives Okita the huggles and the feels. His own Peace Soul activates, but Li uses his power to withhold it’s power.

Okita snaps out of his trance, but Kondo’s body is extremely weak. Okita seeing Kondo on the brink of death made Okita’s Peace Soul activate. Kondo’s Peace Soul begins to float away, but Hijikata calls out to it and it attaches to him. Okita begins to sing to fix the damage he’s done, and it has a nice rock backing. His Peace Soul begins to glow brighter, and Hijikata’s follow suit. People begin to break out of their mind control and enjoy the concert despite the dead head of the Shinsengumi on the roof. Li begins to cast his weakening spell again, but blonde haired kid commands him to stop through telepathic means, and he leaves disgruntled, because when a shota talks, you gotta listen. Kondo’s soul floats away and everyone is sad. Ryoma declares he hates Heaven’s Song, and the episode ends.

Lots of stuff going on this time, partially confusing, but regardless it was a pretty heavy episode. As for the challenge which I’ll be tacking on, the dream is simple (mostly if it’s Ryoma). Every girl swoons over his rock, and he gets pizza every day. Well, he’s the good character of the show, so everyone gets their happy ending, too. If the dream ends surfing on a big piece of pizza with a guitar and sensei-afro man cheering them on, then sure, why not?

I hope you are ready for space! And Australia! But not space Australia. It’s time for episode 18. After the fight against Zin and Moco, Daichi and Teppei recover on the floating space station that Hana is also on. Here we have some character development, which our heroes desperately needed. Hana is called into the Governors’ room to have a sit down with her. Teppei is at the pool swimming and being fawned over by the two girls from the last episode who kept asking if Teppei was single. Daichi takes a walk around the station and finds a ship.

Looking at the spaceship, Daichi is met by a large, elderly gentleman who says he is one of the scientists who worked on the ship. It is supposed to be an arc that will lead humanity into the stars. He recognizes Daichi and calls him a hero. Daichi doesn’t believe himself to be a hero, but the scientist believes and forces a handshake on him.

Hana joins the governor in her office to ask about her daughter Akari and if she considers her a friend. Hana happily says yes, and she is relieved. Akari never had friends growing up, and seeing this made her happy as a mother. Hana sits down next to her and is wondering why she is crying. They have a bit of a moment, and the governor hugs Hana because she said she didn’t know what it was like to have a mom and sees her as a great one. Then Hana tries to ask her a question, but then they get in a weird position and look at each other like they are about to kiss and I’m like… okaaay. It was a little weird; they didn’t do it… but it was weird. Teppei… well, I already explained what happened to him.

The three say their goodbyes to everyone on the station and take a ship down to Earth. But, as they are blasting off, we cut to the large scientist Daichi met, and it turns out that he was actually a member of Salty Dog! He sabotaged their return vessel, and it is now on a crash course for Australia where the Salty Dog HQ is located. There is also a Globe branch HQ in the area, too. Daichi and the others make it to the planet safely in the Outback. They decide to head for the Globe branch in the Northwest.

They make their way in their Ordinary Engines. That name still just sounds demeaning. On the way they are met with a stealth bomber-looking plane. Turns out it is an unmanned plane controlled by Salty Dog. Teppei shoots it down after it tried to attack them. Teppei tells Daichi that he knew it was unmanned, but if it wasn’t, he would still shoot it down. Then asks if Daichi is ready to do the same. I should explain. Daichi and Teppei were doing an energy output test in space. The powers of the engine’s lasers are determined by the inner energy and resolve of the user. Teppei’s is stronger than Daichi’s and has been depressed the whole episode, saying that he might not be capable of being leader.

After traversing the Outback, they stop for lunch and have some comedic banter. They also try to get in contact with Globe HQ, but Salty Dog is jamming their transmissions. They are now being tracked by unmanned Salty Dog tanks. They attack with the intent of killing Daichi and Teppei but leaving Hana alive. Their goal is to kidnap Hana and use her to control Blume for their own goals. After a daring chase they are cornered into a crater. Teppei’s leg and arm are shot off on his mech, and he is no longer able to continue. Daichi decides to man up and jump in the air. He fires his laser cannons and does a circle motion in the air, destroying all of the Satly Dog tanks in a single blast. Teppei is impressed, and they head for the Globe branch building.

This episode actually wasn’t very good. Nothing really happened and it was kind of boring. Next episode, though, we get to look forward to some airship action so that should be fun… I hope. Seeya next time. Oh wait! This week’s challenge. The challenge was to talk about a something one of your characters dreams about. For Hana, it is obviously about Pitz and Daichi. But in bright colors and with flowers everywhere in a cute manner. Sorry it wasn’t too in depth, guys; it’s just…all of these characters are so plain and uninteresting! We need the story to focus on Bugbear. Please just make the anime about Bugbear, and I’ll be happy. He probably still dreams about the girl he fell in love with. And it makes me sad.

Hello you fine people you. It’s time for more Stardust Crusaders, and we’re starting with a very ominous beginning to the episode. Given the name of this Episode is “The Sun,” it’s not surprising, though.

We get ourselves an OP break and return to find that it’s either been taken care of (I doubt it), or we haven’t gotten to that point yet. Our heroes have bypassed Iraq and Iran, and have arrived in the United Arab Emirates. Polnareff has to fix his hair because Joseph messes it up, which makes me wonder why he’d go to that length, as his hair is ridiculous. Regardless, they plan on getting a Cesna in a small village northwest from their current location, so they buy an expensive car and drive it out into the desert.

Why an expensive car? So they can trade it for camels and water, of course. Joseph assures everyone he knows what he’s doing, then gets beat up by the stubborn camel. Turns out his knowledge came from kind of watching Lawrence of Arabia a few times… Eventually they all get saddled up and on the move, but Kakyoin and Jotaro can’t shake the feeling they’re being watched, even though they can’t see anything.

The temperature continues to rise to more than 50 degrees Celsius, which Joseph explains is normal for the time of day. However, when they check their watches, it’s actually well into the evening, but the sun is still shining overhead. Not only that, but it isn’t setting; it’s rising! The temperature rises even more past 60 degrees.

Suspecting the worst (and the truth), they realize it must be a Stand. They hide in a small hole where they can get some shade and look for the user, who they conclude must not be far from them considering the strength of the Stand. Meanwhile, their camels are passing out from the heat. Looking around, they still see nothing wrong, so Kakyoin attacks the Sun with Heirophant Green, hoping to ferret out the user and determine how far away the Stand is.

If anyone in this episode were to take a nap, I feel like their dreams would be strangely reminiscent of the ending to season one of Free! Being cooked alive in the desert would give anyone dreams of an oasis, and I suspect all of them would be as excited for water as Haru would at that point.

Kakyoin fires off an Emerald Splash, and in retaliation The Sun shoots out what appears to be hot magma. Kakyoin is injured, and Silver Chariot deflects most of the rest while Star Platinum digs out a bit of a cave for protection and shade. It’s still incredibly hot, and people are worried about their mental condition as the temperature rises. Joseph goes for a drink when he finds a hole burst clear through. The water tanks near the camels have also been shot. When Joseph borrowed Jotaro’s binoculars to look for the enemy, they were immediately destroyed when they stuck out from hiding. The Stand’s user is targeting their supplies like a sniper.

We get a bit of a trippy sun montage before Kakyoin starts laughing like a crazy person. Joseph is worried, but Jotaro and even Polnareff also start laughing. Joseph thinks he’s the only sane person left when Kakyoin stops him and points out the obvious. There are two rocks a ways out which are exact mirrors of each other; not only that, but one of the rocks has a shadow pointing the wrong way. Everyone was laughing at their own stupidity for not noticing earlier.

Star Platinum picks up a rock and whips it at the fake rock, creating a hole in the mirror the user was hiding behind. Instantly bright day turns to night. He was riding an interesting little vehicle with it’s own AC and water supply. Joseph is dumbfounded that they’ve won this battle without ever knowing or meeting the Stand user before his defeat.

They get back on the road despite Joseph’s warning about how dangerous it can be traveling at night. Of course it won’t be dangerous; they’ve already defeated their enemy. As added humour, they end the episode with a “Ba-dump-tish!” Or at least the Japanese version of it.

ED break! Next episode, Kakyoin is having weird nightmares about a baby crying… That’s all.

Watch JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders on Crunchyroll or talk about this episode on our forums.The Irregular At Magic High School (Episode Eighteen)Player: KayarathClass: Content Provider

Do you believe in magic? In a young girl’s heart? Well, of course you do since they all go school together! Welcome to the next arc in The Irregular at Magic High School! Well, what new hijinks will our rumbustious cast of characters run into this time? Hey look, Tatsuya (who would dream of his sister, but that’s obvious) is doing research! Hey, in this show, that counts as hijinks! As part of Tatsuya’s goal to revolutionize the energy sector with magic, he’s looking into the Philosopher’s stone. You know, that thing that turns other things to gold? Well, if it can do that, it must be able to store magic in some way. If one could store spells for later use, it could lead to all sorts of cool stuff.

If that wasn’t enough excitement for you, we have a thesis competition! Every magic high school will get to submit research papers! I bet you already stopped reading so you can go online and watch the excitement happen! There’s an absence in the First Magic High School writing team, so naturally Tatsuya gets recruited to fill in the void. Since the research paper and his personal research share more or less the same goal, he signs on.

After the school day wraps up, Tatsuya and Miyuki encounter a visitor in their home. Turns out it’s their step mother (I think) and she wants Tatsuya’s help in some new project. While the step mother (I bet she dreams of money and power) is not on friendly terms, showing up with a philosopher stone-like relic can score you some brownie points. It also puts a big “attack me” on your back, since that thing is the equivalent of carrying plutonium on you. Luckily Tatsuya (then again, maybe he doesn’t dream at all?) foils the attack and takes the thing home with him. I’m sure no one will try to take it from him…

Watch The Irregular at Magic High School on Daisuki or talk about this episode on our forums.Terror in Resonance (Episode Six)Player: WhiskahsClass: Technomancer

Five and her American colleagues take control of the Sphinx investigation and set a trap for the two terrorists in this episode. Five plants a bomb in an airport and impersonates Sphinx in the form of a riddle-laden threat, which Shibazaki begins to suspect when his department is told to go on standby after the threat is issued. Nine and Twelve recognize the bomb as a trap, but don’t want any innocence people to get hurt, so they jump head first into it anyway. Lisa seems like she’ll have a part in their scheme to disable the bomb, but it’s not entirely clear how yet.

Annnnd that about sums up the episode. Not a whole lot happened other that a bit of setup for the next two or three episodes. As the series (or season?) is about half way over at this point, I imagine whatever the result of this confrontation is will set the stage for the finale. At this point I figured there’d have been a bit more development story and character-wise, but I guess you can only do so much with a limited amount of time.

As to what one of the characters in the show dreams about, that’s easy. As there have been a couple references to it (I think the first being in episode two), Nine dreams about he and Twelve’s escape from the facility where they were raised and of how they left Five behind.

Watch Terror in Resonance on Funimation or talk about this episode on our forums.DRAMAtical Murder (Episode Six)Player: ShoClass: Content Provider

Here we go, another fantabulously dramatic episode of DRAMAtical Murder. And as what seems like Aoba’s alternate self announces “destroy,” Mizuki grasps his head painfully and is on the ground helplessly. Then suddenly, everything in Mizuki’s head dissolves into a Rhyme game. He finds the strange guy, the creator of the haven on the island there to greet him. He wakes up shortly after to find that Grams was safe, but Mizuki was passed out on the ground. Then Aoba passes out too.

It goes into a scene with Toue, the person who seems to run the island, saying that they wanted to have Aoba and his gang get up to him by themselves. He was in a big company building with a bunch of people in it, and there was a girl with a Morphine hairpiece in her hair.

When it cuts back, Aoba and the gang have Grams explain what’s been happening. Mizuki was indeed controlled by Morphine, but Morphine wasn’t just a Rib team; Grams suggests that it was actually run by Toue, the person who owns the island. And Grams was unknowingly working for Toue’s labs 20 years ago. She used to work on curing brain damage, but she discovered that Toue was actually wanting to replace consciousness. She also suspects that Toue is trying to control everyone on the island and sell the idea to other countries. Understandably, everyone wanted to attack the Toue headquarters.

Then Gram drops another bomb on Aoba after everyone leaves. Aoba has the ability to manipulate other people’s consciousnesses and even destroy it. Grams reveals that Aoba was the reason that Mizuki hadn’t regained consciousness and the reason Toue was after them. And to make matters even worse, Aoba used to play Rhyme, and in an incident, he lost his memories, and Grams gave him medicine to suppress his powers.

At the end of the episode, Koujaku is told something by the dude with the pink parrot about Aoba, saying that he was a liar and something more that wasn’t revealed. Then, with everyone separated, everyone got pushed towards the Platinum Jail, with the police after Aoba and everyone receiving an invitation.

I would like to delve into what Noiz might dream of. I bet it’s something really cute. Something unexpectedly fluffy and cute. He has bunnies for his little avatars, using them to fight and break into things. He definitely dreams of something fluffy, even with his strange and often cold-seeming demeanor. Going on that, he might dream of playing with bunnies in a large grass field.

Next week’s challenge: We’re gonna be over the hump next week! The ending is in sight. Looks like some of your shows might be ending on happy notes, while some of you are looking at tragedy! With what you know about your show, tell us your best-case and worst-case ending predictions for your show for 30 points!

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